Lindsey Vonn has been told she risked too much after she suffered a horror crash at the Winter Olympics while competing with a ruptured ACL
Lindsey Vonn has been told she “risked too much” when she decided to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Vonn, 41, was airlifted to a hospital after crashing out of the women’s downhill alpine skiing final, shocking the watching crowd into silence. The American icon was competing with a ruptured ACL, from another crash days before the event.
And she has now been told she risked too much. Tina Maze, a former rival of Vonn’s, told Eurosport: “We all know about the obstacles Lindsey has had to overcome in recent days. In my opinion, she took too much of a risk by starting the race here today.
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“That’s how such a fall could happen – and if you’re not fit either, the consequences can be even worse. But we all know Lindsey – it was her decision. She really wanted it. That’s terrible.”
Eurosport expert Viktoria Rebensburg added: “We all knew there were only two options today – risk everything and then crash, or go for a medal. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it’s not too bad.”
However, FIS President Johan Eliasch, rejecting the aspect of Vonn’s excessive risk-taking: “She knows her body and her injuries and knows what she can do and what she is capable of. She would not have done anything she wasn’t absolutely confident she could do.”
It has now been confirmed that Vonn has had surgery on a fractured left leg. A statement from Ca Foncello hospital said that Vonn had undergone “orthopedic surgery to stabilize the fracture she sustained in her left leg”.
Vonn’s sister quickly spoke out following the American’s ordeal. Speaking to American broadcaster NBC, she said: “I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see.
“And it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign.
“But she really… she just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay.
“She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.”